Water ski rope rewinder

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for automatically moving a water ski tow rope to one side of a boat when slack occurs in the tow rope and for rewinding the rope onto a reel when the skier releases the handle thereof comprising: a davit member, a resilient member attached to the davit member and a fixed bracket in a manner such that the resilient member biases a portion of the davit member to one side of the boat when slack occurs in the tow rope and reduces the jerk transmitted to the skier during initial acceleration and turns.

GR 309199963 5R United States Patent 1w] Cox, III

[ Nov. 18, 1975 WATER SKI ROPE REWINDER William G. Cox, III, Dawson, Ga.

Assignee: Harold C. Thompson, Dawson, Ga. Filed: Aug. 27, 1974 Appl. No: 500,961

Inventor:

US. Cl. 114/235 WS; 242/865 A Int. C1. B63B 21/00 Field of Search 114/235 WS; 115/61;

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2/1961 Beltmann et a1 114/235 WS 7/1962 Sadler 114/235 WS 7/1963 Brown 4/1965 Andersen ,.242/86.5A

3.303.813 2/1967 Colins et a1. 114/235 WS Primary Examiner-Trygve M. Blix Assistant Eraminer-Char1es E. Frankfort Attorney, Agent, or FirmA. Yates Dowel], Jr.

[57] ABSTRACT Apparatus for automatically moving a water ski tow rope to one side of a boat when slack occurs in the tow rope and for rewinding the rope onto a reel when the skier reieases the handle thereof comprising: a davit member, a resilient member attached to the davit member and a fixed bracket in a manner such that the resilient member biases a portion of the davit member to one side of the boat when slack occurs in the tow rope and reduces the jerk transmitted to the skier during initial acceleration and turns.

4 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures US. Patent Nov. 18, 1975 WATER SKI ROPE REWINDER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to the pulling of various articles and relates particularly to water ski tow ropes by means of which a skier is towed behind a high speed boat.

2. Description of the Prior Art In the past, water skiers have used a tow rope with one end anchored to the transom or stern of a motor boat and the opposite end of the rope has had a handle which was held by the skier. Normally it has been necessary for the boat to attain a substantial speed so that the skier could plane across the surface and therefore it has been necessary to mount a relatively large power plant on the boat. At the beginning of the skiing operation, the boat has been maneuvered to a position relatively close to a skier so that the skier could grasp the tow rop handle, after which the boat has moved slowly away from the skier until the tow rope was substantially taut. Thereafter, the power plant of the boat was accelerated rapidly to cause the skier to rise to the surface of the water and be pulled at the same speed that the boat was travelling. When the skier fell or otherwise released the handle, the operator of the boat decelerated so that the ski rope could be recovered by manually pulling the tow rope into the boat. Frequently during this operation the tow rope became entangled with the propellor of the power plant so that not only was the rope severed, but at times the end of the rope became entangled about the propellor shaft and had to be freed before the power plant could again be used.

Some efforts have been made to provide apparatus for moving the ski rope to one side of a propelling boat and to rewind the tow rope onto a reel mounted on the boat. In some instances, such as in Andersen U.S. Pat.-

No. 3,l78,l27, the tow rope reel has been operated automatically and the winding in of the rope caused the handle to be moved outwardly to one side of the boat. In other instances, such as the patent to Collins et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,303,813, the tow rope passed about a pulley located at one side of the boat and the reeling in of the tow rope was controlled by the operator of the boat. However, this type of structure adversely affected the steering of the boat, particularly when a single skier was being towed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a water ski rope rewinding apparatus in which the rope is mounted on a reel carried by a boat and such reel is operated by a motor under the control of the operator of the boat. The ski rope passes through a fair lead or eye carried by a davit and such davit is mounted in a socket in such a manner that the outer end of the davit normally is disposed outwardly of the boat in a position substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis thereof but which can move to a position generally parallel with the longitudinal axis of the boat when a skier is being towed. When the rope becomes slack, the davit automatically returns to its normal position.

It is an object of the invention to provide a water ski tow rope rewinding apparatus including a davit having one end normally disposed outwardly of the boat and generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis thereof, but which moves to a plane generally parallel 2 with the longitudinal axis of the boat when a skier is being towed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tow rope rewinding apparatus in which the reel on which the rope is mounted is driven by a motor under the control of the operator of the boat.

A further object of the invention is to provide a tow rope rewinding apparatus including a swingably mounted davit including a resilient operating mechanism which reduces the intensity of the strain applied to the rope during the initial movement of the skier or when slack occurs in the tow rope.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective illustrating one application of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation illustrating the manner in which the mechanism is mounted on a conventional boat.

FIG. 3 is a front elevation of the reel mechanism.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary section on the line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged section on the line 55 of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a perspective illustrating the apparatus in position for travel.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With continued reference to the drawing, a boat 10 is provided having sides 11 and a stern transom 12 on which a power plant 13, such as an outboard motor or the like, is mounted for propelling the boat. The boat and the power plant are conventional and such power plant can be either an inboard or an outboard motor which normally drives a propeller (not shown) located below the surface of the water.

When the boat 10 is used to tow one or'more skiers, a socket or sleeve 15 is mounted along a generally vertical axis on the inside or the outside of the transom 12 or on the sides 11 of the boat in any desired manner, as by upper and lower brackets 16 and 17, respectively. With particular reference to FIG. 4, the lower end of the sleeve 15 is welded to the lower bracket 17, while the .upper end of such sleeve is provided with a reduced portion 18 received within an opening 19 in the upper bracket 16. The brackets 16 and 17 are firmly attached to the boat 10 in any desired manner, as by screws or bolts (not shown).

A davit 20 having a generally vertically disposed lower portion 21 and a generally horizontally disposed upper portion 22 is swingably mounted within the sleeve 15. It is noted that, if desired, the upper portion 22 of the davit could be curved awayfrom the plane of the lower portion. Preferably, a nylon or other waterproof anti-friction bushing 23 is mounted in the upper portion of the sleeve 15 and such bushing has an inner diameter of a size to slidably engage the vertical portion 21 of the davit 20.

The upper portion 22 of the davit is normally disposed in a position generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the boat and the outer end of such upper portion is located exteriorly of the sides 1 l of the boat. In order to swing the davit to its normal position, the lower end of the vertical portion 21 is provided with a slot or groove 25 of a size to receive one end 26 of a torque spring 27. The end 26 is secured within the slot 25 by a pin 28 extending through an opening 29 in the vertical portion 21 of the davit. The other end of the torque spring extends through a slot 31 in the lower bracket 17 and such other end is secured by a cotter key or pin 32. Since the upper portion 22 of the davit 20 can extend to either side of the boat, it is apparent that right and left hand torque springs are provided for causing the davit to turn in the desired direction. A predetermined tension is applied to the torque spring to cause the davit to turn to the outside of the boat when a pulling force on the upper portion of the davit is relieved.

With particular reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, a stop plate 33 is mounted on the upper bracket 16 and such stop plate has a reduced area 34 connected to the remainder of the stop plate by shoulders 35 and 36. A stop pin 37 is fixed to the vertical portion 21 of the davit and is adapted to slidably engage the reduced area 34 of the plate 33. Normally the pin 37 is in alignment with the upper portion 22 of the davit so that when the upper portion extends outwardly of the boat, the pin 37 engages the shoulder 35 and when the upper portion is located in a plane generally parallel with the longitudinal axis of the boat, the pin 37 engages the shoulder 36.

A tow rope 40 having a handle 41 at one end extends through a fair lead or eye 42 fixed to the outer end of the upper portion 22 of the davit 20 and through a fair lead or eye 43 mounted on the transom 12 to a reel 44 carried by a shaft 45. Such shaft is journaled in bearings (not shown) carried by brackets 46 which are bolted or otherwise attached to the boat 10. One end of the shaft is driven by a speed reduction mechanism 47, the opposite end of which is driven by a shaft 48 of an electric motor 49 mounted on the boat 10 in any desired manner, as by a mounting bracket 50. The motor 49 can be either reversibly driven or can be driven in one direction only in which case an electrically operated brake (not shown) is provided to prevent rotation of the shaft 48 until desired. The motor 49 is supplied with electrical energy from any conventional source such as a battery (not shown).

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 3, a control box 51 for each motor 49 is located adjacent to the operator of the boat and such control box has a first switch 52 for energizing the motor in a direction to wind the rope 40 onto the reel 44, and a second switch 53 for rotating the motor in a reverse direction to unwind the reel 44 or to release the brake mechanism so that the tow rope can be paid out from the reel.

In the operation of the device, the boat 10 is maneuvered to a position adjacent to a skier so that the skier can take hold of the handle 41 of the tow rope at one side of the boat. The operator of the boat then moves the boat forward slowly while operating the switch 53 so that the tow rope unwinds from the reel 44 while the skier remains substantially stationary. When a sufficient length of tow rope has been unwound, the switch 53 is deenergized and the operator of the boat accelerates the power plant 13. Since the reel 44 can no longer turn, initial movement of the boat causes the davit 20 to rotate substantially 90 so that the upper portion 22 is turned from a generally perpendicular position to a generally longitudinal position while applying additional torque to the spring 27. The turning of the davit reduces the jerk transmitted to the arms of the skier and makes it easier for the skier to hold onto the handle when the tow rope becomes taut. During the skiing activity, the tow rope normally develops a small amount of slack from time to time caused by the turning of either the boat or the skier, and when this condition occurs the torque spring 27 automatically swings the upper portion of the davit toward a position perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the boat and maintains a tension on the tow rope. When the slack condition is overcome, the upper portion of the davit again moves to a position generally parallel with the longitudinal axis of the boat and reduces or eliminates any jerk transmitted to the skier.

When the skier falls or otherwise releases the handle of the tow rope 40, the operator of the boat energizes switch 52 to operate the motor 49 and cause the reel 44 to rotate in a direction to wind the tow rope 40 onto the reel. Simultaneously the operator of the boat circles back to the skier so that the skier can either climb into the boat or can again take hold of the handle 41 after which the tow rope is paid out and the skier continues skiing.

With reference to FIG. 6, when the boat is being transported over land and along public roadways, it is necessary to move the upper portion 22 of each of the davits inwardly of the sides 11 of the boat so that the davit and the handle of the tow rope will not strike objects along the way. In order to move the upper portion inwardly, the vertical portion 21 of the davit is raised slightly against the tension of the torque spring 27 so that the pin 37 is disposed on top of the stop plate 33, after which the davit is rotated substantially and the upper portions extend toward each other. In this position, a rope or other connecting member 54 is attached to the upper portions 22 of each of the davits to maintain the davits in facing relationship.

Certain conventional boats are provided with an aft deck located rearwardly of the well deck or passenger compartment and in this event, the reel 44 and motor 49 can be mounted on such aft deck or within the well deck structure including under the aft deck.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for mounting a water ski tow rope on a boat having a longitudinal axis comprising a davit having an elongated substantially straight first portion and a second portion disposed out of the plane of said first portion, bracket means for swingably mounting the first portion of said davit on the boat along a generally vertical axis, a resilient member having one portion attached to the first portion of said davit and another portion attached to a fixed structure to urge the second portion of said davit toward a position outwardly of the boat and generally normal to the longitudinal axis thereof, first stop means carried by said bracket means, second stop means mounted on said davit and cooperating with said first stop means to permit limited swinging movement of said davit relative to said bracket means, and a water ski tow rope connected to the second portion of said davit, whereby a pulling force applied to said tow rope by a skier swings said second portion of the davit to a position substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis of the boat against the force exerted by said resilient member to reduce the jerk transmitted to the skier and said resilient member returns said second portion of the davit to an outwardly extending position when the tow rope is released by the skier.

2. The structure of claim 1 including reel means rotatably mounted on the boat, means for driving said reel means in at least one direction, said driving means being selectively controlled by the operator of the boat,

and the end of said tow rope remote from said skier being wound on said reel means, whereby the operator of the boat can wind the tow rope on the reel when the tow rope is released by the skier.

3. The structure of claim 1 in which said bracket means includes a hollow sleeve for receiving the first portion of said davit and said resilient member includes a torque spring mounted within said hollow sleeve.

4. Apparatus for mounting a water ski tow rope on a boat having a longitudinal axis comprising a davit having an elongated first portion disposed along a substantially vertical axis and a second portion disposed out of the plane of said first portion, said first portion terminating in an inner end and said second portion terminating in an outer end, bracket means mounted on said boat, said bracket means including a hollow sleeve disposed along a generally vertical axis, the first portion of said davit being swingably received within said sleeve and extending substantially therethrough, the inner end of said first portion being spaced from the lower end of 6 said sleeve, a torque spring having one end attached to the inner end of said first portion of the davit and the other end attached to a fixed structure for swinging said davit in one direction, first stop means carried by said sleeve, second stop means mounted on said davit and cooperating with said first stop means to permit limited swinging movement of said davit relative to said sleeve, said torque spring normally urging the second portion of said davit toward a position outwardly of and generally normal to the longitudinal axis of the boat, and a water ski tow rope connected to said outer end of said davit, whereby a pulling force applied to said tow rope by a skier swings said second portion of the davit to a position substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis of the boat to increase the force of said torque spring and to reduce the jerk transmitted to the skier and said torque spring returns said second portion of the to an outwardly extending position when the tow ropey released by the skier. 

1. Apparatus for mounting a water ski tow rope on a boat having a longitudinal axis comprising a davit having an elongated substantially straight first portion and a second portion disposed out of the plane of said first portion, bracket means for swingably mounting the first portion of said davit on the boat along a generally vertical axis, a resilient member having one portion attached to the first portion of said davit and another portion attached to a fixed structure to urge the second portion of said davit toward a position outwardly of the boat and generally normal to the longitudinal axis thereof, first stop means carried by said bracket means, second stop means mounted on said davit and cooperating with said first stop means to permit limited swinging movement of said davit relative to said bracket means, and a water ski tow rope connected to the second portion of said davit, whereby a pulling force applied to said tow rope by a skier swings said second portion of the davit to a position substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis of the boat against the force exerted by said resilient member to reduce the jerk transmitted to the skier and said resilient member returns said second portion of the davit to an outwardly extending position when the tow rope is released by the skier.
 2. The structure of claim 1 including reel means rotatably mounted on the boat, means for driving said reel means in at least one direction, said driving means being selectively controlled by the operator of the boat, and the end of said tow rope remote from said skier being wound on said reel means, whereby the operator of the boat can wind the tow rope on the reel when the tow rope is released by the skier.
 3. The structure of claim 1 in which said bracket means includes a hollow sleeve for receiving the first portion of said davit and said resilient member includes a torque spring mounted within said hollow sleeve.
 4. Apparatus for mounting a water ski tow rope on a boat having a longitudinal axis comprising a davit having an elongated first portion disposed along a substantially vertical axis and a second portion disposed out of the plane of said first portion, said first portion terminating in an inner end and said second portion terminating in an outer end, bracket means mounted on said boat, said bracket means including a hollow sleeve disposed along a generally vertical axis, the first portion of said davit being swingably received within said sleeve and extending substantially therethrough, the inner end of said first portion being spaced from the lower end of said sleeve, a torque spring having one end attached to the inner end of said first portion of the davit and the other end attached to a fixed structure for swinging said davit in one direction, first stop means carried by said sleeve, second stop meaNs mounted on said davit and cooperating with said first stop means to permit limited swinging movement of said davit relative to said sleeve, said torque spring normally urging the second portion of said davit toward a position outwardly of and generally normal to the longitudinal axis of the boat, and a water ski tow rope connected to said outer end of said davit, whereby a pulling force applied to said tow rope by a skier swings said second portion of the davit to a position substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis of the boat to increase the force of said torque spring and to reduce the jerk transmitted to the skier and said torque spring returns said second portion of the davit to an outwardly extending position when the tow rope is released by the skier. 